Screaming in Silence
by Reaper of Heroes
Summary: Silence is the most powerful scream; but who can hear what makes no noise? Trapped with your own thoughts with no escape. A scary concept for even the most boring of lives, because everyone has those thoughts that should never exist. Artemis's life is far from boring, and there are thoughts she just can't escape.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't normally put Author's notes at the beginning, but this is a special case. This story will get dark. This story will get slightly fucked up. If you can't handle that, then please leave now.**

Artemis woke up, her throat feeling as though it had been set ablaze. She needed a drink. Opening her bleary eyes, she was almost blinded by how white everything was.

" _White?"_ She thought, her brain slowly coming to life. " _My room isn't white?_ Her eyes snapped open, a mixture of terror and surprise bringing her senses to life. What she saw wasn't her bedroom back in California, but rather a padded white wall. She sprang to her feet, head on a swivel, taking in her surroundings. It wasn't just that wall that was white, but the whole room. It was small, and padded; like a cell in Arkham Asylum, but this was not Arkham. It was too quiet. She'd been there before, with the prisoners maniacal laughs and tortured screams echoing through the building like a psychotic thunder, she was surprised that anyone who worked there didn't go crazy. But the lingering question in her head remained; where the hell was she? Thoughts raced through her head so fast that she failed to notice what she was wearing. Or, in this case, lack of what she was wearing, until she saw her reflection in the small window on the door.

" _Where are my clothes!"_ She tried to yell, the distorted naked image of herself causing her eyes to widen. Artemis had tried to yell, at least, but nothing escaped her lips. She tried again, and still nothing, but her throat still felt like someone had forced her to swallow a lit match.

" _Why can't I speak!"_ She thought loudly. " _And what is wrong with my throat?"_ She stepped towards the tiny window, tilting her chin up to examine her neck. What she found was horrifying. A thin surgical scar, spanning the the width of her neck, right across where her voice box would have been. She tried to let out a terrified gasp, but no sound emerged. All she could do was stare at the completely vulnerable reflection of herself in silence. She wanted to see the strong, independant archer who had earned her place on a team of superheroes by her skill, not this scared little girl. Shaking her head she turned away from the window, scolding herself.

" _Pull yourself together Artemis."_ She commanded. " _Feeling scared is not going to fix this situation. You need to keep a level head, and think clearly. Who could have done this, and why?"_ Pausing for a second to think, one thing became clear to her. Sportsmaster had to be involved. No one else who would want to do this to her knew where she lived.

" _Gross dad."_ She shuddered, realizing her own father had probably seen her naked. " _But who would be able to remove my vocal cords with such precision?"_ This question was a little tougher. There were the villains with the ability to do it themselves, like The Brain, or even Ivo some how. Then there were those who could get someone to do it for them, such as Luthor or Savage. With the villains seemingly working together, it really could be any one of them. She needed clues. " _The window,"_ she realized. She stepped back towards the door, trying to find something outside the room that would give her some sort of indication as to what the hell was going on. Instead, Artemis found herself staring down a long, blank, white hallway. " _Great. I guess I'm gonna have to think this one out on pure brain power."_

…...

In a control room down the hall, Joker, Sportsmaster, The Brain, and Vandal Savage watched the young girl pacing around the room.

"I am surprised you allowed us to strip your daughter down to her, how should I say, indecencies, Sportsmaster." Savage said, turning to face the mercenary. "After the whole debacle with us thinking Aqualad had killed her, I assumed you were a family man." Sportsmaster burst out in laughter.

"I don't love my family," he chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "I don't even care about them. I was just trying to protect my rep. I don't give a shit what happens to her. You want to strip her down to the skinnies, be my guest. So long as my check clears, you could kill her for all I care."

"I will keep that option in my mind," Joker said, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "It may come in handy while I'm trying to break hers." He burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Only as an extreme measure," the Brain's electronic voice chimed in. "An act of physical harm would add another variable to our experiment. Remember, we are testing what a prolonged period of silence will do to the human mind and body."

"Yes." Savage nodded, facing the screen once more. "We must find a way to help the human race evolve at a much more rapid rate, and silence torture is one method used by the Reach to force the meta Gene to activate. We have simply altered their method in order to achieve our goals. Do not mess it up Joker."

"But Savage," Joker said with a psychotic mirth, grinning from ear to ear. "That's the beauty of this experiment, isn't it? It's so messed up!" Savage smiled cruelly, apparently pleased with Joker's remark.

"Indeed it is, Joker. Which is why I've paired you with the Brain for this. While he can be the science behind this, you are the puppet master. So please, pull her strings." Joker cackled with joy.

"Oh don't worry," he replied. "I plan on making her dance."

…

"As of this morning, Artemis is declared missing. Our objective, find out where she is." Kaldur addressed the team in a manner that most would call Batman-esk. There was no emotion in his voice, but everyone could tell that was only because he was masking them. This was a serious mission, and Kaldur could not afford to let his emotions cloud his judgment.

"Batgirl," Kaldur began, starting to assign teams. "You are on computer search. Coordinate the squads, and search anything possible to help us discover Artemis's location." Batgirl turned around and began working on the holo computer immediately, her fingers flying like a blur over the keys. "Robin,Wonder Girl, M'gann," he continued, " you're alpha. You are to search Artemis's home for any clues that could help us to find her. Use the bio-ship." Tim and Cassie exchanged a glance, blushing slightly, before following M'gann towards the docking bay. "Beast Boy, Beetle, Superboy, Imp…" Kaldur stopped himself. "I mean Kid Flash, you're Beta. You're job is to track down Artemis's sister Jade, and her mother Paula. See if they know anything about her whereabouts."

"Isn't Jade Cheshire?" Bart asked, before covering his mouth, thinking he'd overstepped with his future knowledge.

"Indeed, which is why this is a team of four." Aqualad confirmed. He gave Bart a look that let him know it was ok, and he had not crossed any boundaries.

"Got ya. Let's bolt Blue," Kid Flash said, speeding to the Zeta tubes. Superboy just rolled his eyes before walking to the teleporters.

"Of course I get stuck with adhd," he muttered to Aqualad as he walked by, only half complaining.

"The rest of us are Delta. We are the goose chasers. We check every place Artemis frequents. We follow every lead that the others find. We are going to find her. Let's move." With a definitive tone in his voice, Kaldur marched towards the zeta tubes. The team had just lost Wally not more than three months ago. He was not going to lose somebody else, especially not Artemis. This he promised silently to Wally.

 **Short first chapter. It's my thing apparently. But that's how I roll. I don't own Young Justice. Chapters will definitely get longer, and more mature as time goes on. You have been warned. But reviews are always welcome and encouraged. Until next time**

 **Reaper of Heroes out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah, it has been a while. I'm really glad I have time to write again. I never thought that college would give me more time, but hey, here we are. I am a bit rusty, so please bear with me here, and I do promise updates much more quickly.**

Artemis bolted awake, cold sweat dripping from her skin. " _Wally,"_ she thought desperately, standing up, attempting to call out to him. The silence that resonated around her only brought tears to her eyes. Sinking down on weak knees, she sat down and buried her face in her arms.

" _It's only a nightmare,"_ Artemis thought as tears trickled down her face. " _It's not real."_ She consoled, lying to herself. Of course it was real, otherwise Wally would still be alive. That day had just decided to implant itself as the most horrific nightmare she had ever had in her head.

" _Well Artemis, you're up,"_ she told herself, wiping the tears away. " _You can't expect anyone to but you to come to the rescue."_ She felt her heart rate finally settle down, " _Might as well get back to work."_ Adjusting herself, she crossed her legs, and sat in a meditation position. After he first sleep, she had decided trying to solve who had done this to her pointless because even if she figured that out, it would do nothing to help her escape. Escape, unfortunately, was impossible from inside this room; she had tried to no avail. This, however did not mean she had no options. As long as M'gann was right, and humans were able to do it, she had a way of contacting her.

The goal, as M'gann had explained it to her, was to clear her mind of all thoughts. This was easier said than done, as she literally meant every thought. She needed to slow her brain activity to near death in order to hit the point of void mind, as M'gann had called it. Once there she would supposedly be able to communicate telepathically with anyone she had a strong emotional connection with. This was because emotions were supposedly linked to the heart, and not the mind, so they were still active even in the state she needed to reach.

" _Now if only I could clear my head,"_ Artemis muttered inside her head, pissed she could not get to the void mind state. She had been in this stupid room for three sleeps, and still no progress. " _Sleeps is such a stupid way of tracking time here,"_ her mind wandered. " _Shut up brain!"_ She scolded. " _Ok, let's try this again."_ Taking a few deep breaths, Artemis began to concentrate on the idea of nothingness. A blank space, like an unused canvas. A plain, white canvas. White, like the room she was in, and could not escape. Just like the thoughts of Wally dying that haunted every living moment of her life.

" _Dammit!"_ She shouted at herself mentally, jumping up and punching the wall in anger. Her fist hit the padding and lost all momentum, sinking slowly into the wall. This just enraged her further. " _Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!"_ She screamed to herself, pairing each swear with another useless punch to the wall.

" _Why can't I do this?"_ She berated herself angrily. " _I can shoot a fly out of the air with an arrow from a thousand feet, but can't empty my head? Even the emotional M'gann can do this, so why can't I?"_ Artemis took another deep breath, calming herself down again, and sat back down. She needed to keep her cool. " _Ok, let's go again, and this time, I will do it. I will if I ever want to get out of here."_

….

"Her behavior is quite interesting," the Brain remarked, his capsule facing the monitor display of Artemis's room. "She lashed out in anger much quicker today. What are your thoughts Joker?"

"I think I would rather be in Arkham than stuck here with you," he replied dully, his eyes glued to the ceiling while he spun in his swivel chair. "I mean, anything is better than having to watch her sit and sleep for two days. Even day time television."

"Be that as it may," the Brain responded mechanically, "You are still required to be here by Savage. He believes you to be necessary to determining the state of Artemis's mind. Therefore, I would like your input for the notes I am taking."

"She's fine," Joker sighed, slumping further into the chair. "Nothing she has done is out of the ordinary for someone in her situation."

"Is that it all?" The Brain questioned. "Is there nothing more you wish to add?"

"What do you want me to say?" Joker asked irritably, annoyed the science experiment gone wrong would not leave him alone. "You have the psychology training, I just have the psychotic training. You're supposed to be the one who can read people."

"I can only read what I observe subjectively in my present state, Joker," the Brain explained. "You, however, have a desired subjective view. You have an insight to the psychotic and mentally broken that no one else has. This is what has made Savage believe you to be the best man for this job. You can see the mind snap before it does. Therefore, I ask again; is there nothing more you wish to add?"

"If you think that flattery and praise will get me to change my attitude," Joker said cooly, glaring at the Brain. "You sir, are absolutely wrong. I hate it it here, but it is my fear of savage that keeps me from leaving. I may be psychotic, but I know when to hold my cards."

"Then perhaps I shall report your held cards to Savage himself. He will be most displeased to hear that you are withholding information." Anger flared up in Joker's eyes.

"Was that a threat?" He demanded.

"It was indeed. One that shall be followed through with if you fail to comply."

"Fine," Joker spat. "Artemis strong mentally, like a well built bridge, but she's also worn down. Her life hasn't been easy, and so she's experienced a few casualties. She will be hard to crack."

"Strange metaphor," the brain noted, "Using a bridge in comparison to mental health."

"Not so strange as you might think," the Joker replied, an evil grin spreading across his face. "Because just like bridge, she has one weak point, the keystone. If that one point is removed, then the whole thing crumbles."

….

Aqualad was exhausted. He had been to Los Angeles, Gotham, Star, Central, and Jump City, and yet nothing had come to any type of coherent answer. He needed something else, something to put some of the pieces they had together, but as of now all he had was his bed awaiting him at the Watch Tower.

Arriving back at the space station, he took in the groups of exhausted heroes he was in charge of. Tim and Cassie sitting against the wall, leaning on one another as they slept. M'gann meditating by herself, and Bart eating abhorrent amounts of food out of what Aqualad could tell was stress, and not his speedster metabolism. One sight, however, caught his full attention. Superboy conversing with one Jade Nguyen. He quickly made his way over to them.

"Cheshire," he greeted, approaching her. "You are not supposed to be here. No one from the team apart from myself and Nightwing has clearance to allow…"

"The boy in blue let me in himself," she said curtly, cutting him off. "Now what is this about my baby sister having gone missing?"

"Superman let her come here," Aqualad asked Superboy incredulously, ignoring Cheshire's question entirely.

"She was in Metropoulos," he sighed. "Things got violent. He showed up, surprisingly he listened to us, and let her come here. I don't see why this is such a big deal." Superboy turned and walked away. Aqualad made a mental note to talk to him later, as something was clearly bothering him.

"It's not," snapped Jade, clearly miffed about being ignored. "What is important is me finding out what happened to Artemis."

"That is what we wanted to ask you," Aqualad replied calmly, not wanting to anger the assassin further. "I thought perhaps with your underground connections you might have heard something about what had happened to her. All leads we have had are coming up short. But you clearly have no idea that she has gone missing, and so we have reached another dead end."

"What do you mean by missing?" Cheshire asked cooly, the hostility in her voice retreating.

"As of two days ago the team has lost all contact with her," Aqualad explained. "She has not been at her house, nor any of the hideouts she frequents. We have reason to believe she was taken, but the question of by who still remains."

"What is your reason to believe she was taken?" Jade questioned. "Because our dad made sure that we knew how to disappear if we wanted to."

"At her house, Robin found trace amounts of pacifier drugs in her sheets, which would indicate her being drugged while asleep. Unless Artemis had a secret drug problem, we are looking at a kidnapping." The words felt like poison coming out of his mouth. He could not believe this had happened, and every time he had to remind himself, he felt as though he had failed as a leader. It was his job to protect his team, and he had failed to do that.

"If that is the case," Cheshire began, a bitterness in her voice, "then I suppose I should work with you." Aqualad nodded in agreement.

"Very well, but there are some rules…"

"I said work with you, not for you," Cheshire said, cutting Aqualad off once again. "I have no intentions to play by your rules fish boy. If you want my help you let me do my own thing, and I will get you information that you would otherwise never be able to get, deal?"

"You are in no position to be making demands Cheshire," Aqualad reminded her, gesturing to the many heroes that surrounded them. "You will do this my way." Cheshire just laughed.

"I hate to break it to you, but you aren't in any position to make demands either," she replied nonchalantly. "Because without me, you lose your only access point to a whole network of information that could crack this case wide open. So, you do it your way, I'll do it my way, and we'll compare notes at some point." Aqualad knew she was right, even if he hated to admit it.

"Very well," he said. "Now, let me escort you out."

 **This felt good. I do have to admit that. Hopefully it was a good chapter. Sorry for any rust spots, I'm trying to get back into the swing of this. Any reviews are always appreciated, and constructive criticism is even better. Until next time**

 **Reaper of Heroes out.**


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